one year later
by aleushadrake
Summary: this story takes place after the story both or neither, which is posted on my aff account since its dirty lol


there it was a year later and they where having another fight. Another day that resulted in crona breaking into tears and running away, another time when death the kid wished very much he had more experience with these situations. This time liz and patty just sighed and looked away, maka had rushed immediately after crona- always there to clean up the emotional mess he made of crona. Sullen and guilt ridden he trudged slowly home not sure what to think of his own words, they came out sounding completely logical. That you see was the problem, he was so logical. As he trudged home letting his feet drag slightly against the road, leaving dust in awkward patterns on his shoes and the hem of his perpetually pristine pants.

'why is this so hard?'

he mused to himself about why having a relationship should be so difficult, shouldn't it be easy ? Shouldn't everything just fall into place if it was meant to be? What if has struggling to keep them together when they where meant to fall apart? He didn't pay attention to passers by as he rounded the corner that brought him home, he pushed the door open failing to look at the décor on his walls. He always checked these things when he walked into make sure everything was in place, exactly where it should be. It stayed that way, like always. Nothing ever moved when he left because there is no one here, no one to leave a fingerprint that didn't belong. He kicked his bedroom door open letting it slam violently against the wall and bounce back as he threw himself on his bed. This bed where just a few days ago, crona lay sleeping next to him. The first time they had spent the night together, they didn't want to be apart. He loved the way his lover slept, completely at ease. It was the best nights sleep he'd ever had. The room was perfectly designed, the left wall a mirror image of the right. A dresser on either side of his large four poster bed, above each dresser a series of paintings. Tucked into the corners of a few frames where photos, snapshots maka had taken of the couple. He let his head loll to the side to stare at a picture directly to the left of his bed, but not on the other. It was crona blushing feverishly, taken directly before he was picked up for their first date. His head rolled back to stare up at the blank slate that was his ceiling, the image began to blur. Words out of his own mouth rang in his head like bells in a chapel. How cruel he had been and he saw that now. Crona, crona only missed him, missed him dearly and had been scolded for it. Kid closed his eyes, hot pearly tears streaking down his face breath catching in his throat as his mind floated back.

'cant he ever get someone else to do these missions?'

'not really they're very dangerous missions. I have to do them'

'…'

'if your worried about me, you shouldn't be.'

'I don't worry about you when your gone'

'you don't?'

'I know you know how to deal with things'

'than whats wrong now?'

'I don't know to deal with this'

'this? What is this?'

'you'

'me?'

'yes, you just go. You never argue about it. You never say no.'

'they're important missions, you know that'

'I know, I just wish I was important too'

'you are important'

'is that why you leave all the time? Is that why you keep telling we can be together later?'

'I don't get a choice in what I do I have to go!'

'I thought questions had many answer's, but you always use the same one'

'crona we have time! There's always later why cant you just wait?'

'you don't '

'what? What does that mean?'

' I know you work, and when you work you don't think back to me you just work. Working isn't waiting. I'm always waiting'

'?'

' I don't worry when you're gone, I just miss you. I keep wishing you would hurry back, but you never do.'

'crona! What a ridicules thing to say- I have to focus when I'm out I cant be thinking about you all the time! I always come back!'

'I'm ridicules for missing you!'

right then his cronas eyes flooded, just poured thick rivers of tears down his beautiful face with gently angled features. His brow furrowed into a sharp point as he glared at kid furiously and shouted with his hands fisted at his sides.

'your right! Its JUST STUPID! Fine you go on and when later comes I WONT be waiting!'

he turned on the ball of his foot and ran. Feeling stupefied kid just stood there slack jawed. In the doorway to his room a shadow lurks, leans in lazily with arms crossed over his chest and says

"how uncool, just laying there crying."

kid looks over and sees soul leaning in his doorway staring down his nose at his friend. Kid doesn't say anything.

"you know, its getting kind of irritating. Crona always in makas room crying like that."

"always?"

"yea always, when you leave. She know you wont hurry back, you'll take your and do thing thoroughly and efficiently."

kid shifted pushing himself into a sitting position to stare at soul in confusion

"how is that bad? I always have later!"

soul stepped into the room and pushed himself up onto the dresser nearest the door sitting comfortably with his back against the eggshell white wall.

"yea, you do. Your death the kid. You 'll live forever just like your father. Crona won't."

kids yellow eyes went wide, his jaw tightened and felt guilt wash over him in a tidal wave.

"do you realize you have been with crona for a year now? Does that register in your time frame? And from what I can see, you and crona have spent half that time nowhere near each other. And I know damn well most of those missions you where sent on where something any three star meister could handle."

kid opens his mouth to defend himself, but cant find a shield. No words will come because suddenly all he can think of is the way crona clings to him even when their together. He had thought it was a just one those cute quirks crona has, but no- he was scared always scared that kid will disappear. Soul slides off the dresser heading back to the door

"everyone see the way she loves the little time you two spend together, holds on to it like it will be the last time every time. Why are you the only one who doesn't feel it?"

the white haired boy slips his hands in his pockets and strolls out of the room without a backward glance. As he listened to the front door shutting another wave washed over him, fear. The tears returned in full force and then some, as he realized why it was that he never chose to be with anyone before this. Before crona appeared he had always waited until his feeling of attraction would pass, waiting. Waiting is easy for him. Suddenly the thought of coming back one day and finding crona buried filled his head. The missions where always dangerous, always for everyone. He collapsed backward on to his bed, covering his face with his hands and let out a wordless scream as he sobbed. Left to his thoughts he realized he was lucky, so extremely fortunate to have crona. Crona was about the only person in the world who had a chance of staying with him for a time frame that would in retrospect be more than the blink of an eye. With black blood you can live for a very long time, and here he was wasting it away. So much of the last two months had been spent with him flitting in and out of the school, once a whole week went by where he didn't so much as see crona. didn't even try. He let himself stew in his horrid thoughts for another hour before he threw himself out of bed, rushing to the phone in the sitting room.

"maka here"

"maka!-"

"oh its you, what do you want?"

"Is crona still there?"

"yes"

"let me talk to him please!"

"no, shes just fallen asleep, been crying since I got her back here."

"im sorry!"

"you should be"

"i need to talk to him now ple-"

"she waits for you all the damn time- why don't you try waiting!"

the line cut and a dull buzzing noise filled kids ear. He scrunched his eyes shut, slammed the phone back on the receiver smashing it into the stand. His gold eyes roved the halls of his home, so clean and pristine, not a damn thing out of place. His fists clenched at his side for just a moment before he picked up the already broken phone and threw it down the hall where it crashed into the walls knocking panting off the wall, leaving others dangling lopsided on the wall. Maka would probably put him through hell before letting him in to see his lover, sleep, is important though. Crona has insomnia, night terrors and...abandonment issues. He needs his sleep is the thought that crosses through kids mind as he slumps onto the floor. Left to his thoughts and all he can think of is how much he misses crona right now.

'how selfish am I? Crona needs me here with him and I keep leaving- I never once even thought to take him with me, I bet he would have gone too. its not like cronas too weak to handle himself , it wouldn't be a distraction.'

in his mind images of all cronas recent growth on the field flash through his mind, sparring with blackstar crona won,sparring with ox, crona won, with maka and soul, crona won by the skin of his teeth but still won. Lost to dr stein but at least got a few good hits in. liz opens the front door and sees paintings tossed on the floor, candles broken and unlit rolling across the tile and bits of what used to be the phone strewn all over the place. The hallway is flooded with the sound of hitching breath and sobbing, she raises her hand to her sister who stills and refrains from going in. Liz walks further in seeing cracks in the wall, peeks around the corner into the sitting room and sees him. Kid curled in the corner of the room sobbing

"I'm so sorry crona I'm so sorry"

she wonders if she should comfort him for a moment but decides against it. She turns to leave silently shutting the door behind her.

"why did we leave him crying? Was he hurt? Shouldn't we help?"

"no patty, we cant help with this. Hes hurting now, but its only because... he's in love and only just realized it. We cant cant help with this we would only get in the way."

patty looks up to her older sister confused and slightly upset

"I don't understand."

"you rarely do"

the sleeping sun falls back behind the mountains allowing the moon the laugh mockingly through the windows of his massive home. For some reason it feels as if he could cry forever, because no matter how many times he tries to stop himself it starts again. At some point he stumbled back to his bedroom, avoiding the moon and its cruel laugh. The boy grips a pillow tight to his chest his back to the corner of the room. This is the way crona felt safe, why doesn't it make him feel safe? With deep shuddering breaths he tries to stop his tears but as soon as he closes his eyes in exhaustion images of his tall lilac haired love flutter past his vision and the tears are renewed. Trudging about his empty house he stops at the window to watch the sun creep over the mountains, realizing he should dress and go to class. Crona will be there, right? Death hurries through his closet throwing off his clothes the way he would if crona was lying on his bed waiting, but he wasn't. Kid yanks a new suit on not caring to take the time to straighten his tie to properly fix his coat in place, to go through the house and put everything back where it belongs. Bursting through the door he glares at the path ahead of him for separating his from his dearest. As he ran down the streets cutting through neighborhoods and jumping walls to get there faster he found anxieties pummeling the forefront of his mind.

'was that a break up! How mad has he been for how long? Will he take me back? What hes done!'

he runs so fast his lungs burn in his chest only to stop dead in his tracks at the sight of crona standing in the courtyard in a familiar stance. A blond is standing next to him, smiling widely, a blonde with several piercings and a rather clumsy smile, a white shirt with several buttons and patched attached. Crona isn't looking at him, but also isn't leaving. Kid feels a growl deep in his throat erupt from him as he charges forward, slamming his open hand into hero's chest knocking the wind from him as he is launched several feet backward.

"GET AWAY!"

he feels crona staring, eyes of the darkest blue open wide in shock, just before they fall half closed. Now with a bored and slightly pained expression looks at kid. Today hes wearing black pants boots and a tight long sleeve red shirt, one arm hangs limp at his side, the other across his chest gripping at his elbow.

"why did you do that?"

kid stares at the other

"he was flirting with you!"

"I know."

suddenly kid feels those tears threatening him again, he flicks one hand past his face trying to wipe away the moisture without being noticed. He fails, crona just blinks at the action and sees maka standing nearby with soul beside her, his hand gripping her shoulder forcing her to stay put.

"why where you letting him flirt with you."

"..."

"crona-"

the taller one sighs crossing his arms over his chest, slouching somewhat letting his gaze flutter away and back.

"I'm sorry, I don't know how to deal with this."

apologizing? Crona is apologizing? Why!

Kid steps forward raising his chin just so his lips brush across cronas cheek, then steps back.

"no, don't be sorry. I'm the one that's wrong"

dark blue eyes stare at him in disbelief.

"I'm sorry crona I'm so sorry. I've been cruel to you, not giving yo the attention you deserve, your right about those damn missions. But I didn't think about how you feel, how things are from your perspective. How long the day must seem when I'm gone. I deserve to hurt forever for the way I've been, but last night I tried to get a hold of you but I couldn't. When I couldn't get a hold of you I … dont even know what happened I just. Well I thought I thought all night about what I should do from now on and I feel like I need to tell you why I kept thinking we had later. That we'd always have later."

crona looks at him with that worried expression, leaning forward and dangling on kids every word. His gaze rake over kid body for just long enough to see how unkempt he looks. Coat sliding off his left shoulder, tie sagging slightly, eyes rimmed red. He wants to tell him sorry and make him feel better as if he will never hurt again but instead stills all his urges to listen. Kid takes a deep shuddering breathe trying to prevent the tears from starting again as he continues.

"I'm a shinengami, so like my father, I'll have to live forever. I don't want to live forever! Asura had black blood, like you-and he lived for centuries. so if I take care of you we can be together for a few hundred years. But one day you'll die, I don't want to live forever because that means someday I'll have to be without you. No, I don't think I'll live forever, I think when you die my heart will break and I'll die too."

in the background maka leans against soul her trying not to get carried away in his words, crona- crona cant help it. He leans forward into kid, laying his head down on kids shoulder, biting his bottom lip trying so hard to think of words to say back. But no words come, no words could possibly rival the depth of feeling in what kid laid out for his love. Death feels warmth drip onto his neck and slide down the collar of his shirt, he places his hands on cronas shoulders pushing back just enough for him to place his forehead on the others.

"crona"

his eyes flutter open,heavy wet tears sticking to his long curved pale lashes to look into intense gold.

"crona come with me, give me today and I'll give you everyday after that I promise I will."

long slender arms slide around kids shoulders pulling him into a gentle kiss, still unable to locate his voice crona just nods as his face falls back to kids neck. By this point a small crowd has gathered to see the spectacle, a few girls cluster together wiping their eyes at kids small but heartfelt speech. Beside the doors Marie stands beside professor stein smiling as she watches the couple retreat, she sighs leaning against the professors shoulder.

"that was beautiful, I hope they stay together."

the tall scar ridden man reaches up pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose before commenting

"they are well matched, but being young is difficult. If they can get past the awkward teenage years together I think they'll be fine."

the blonde woman looks up at him with a smile gracing her pink lips

"don't you want to dissect them?"

"only a little."


End file.
